"Joe/Narcissus (Jack Bittner) is an ordinary man who has recently signed a complicated lease on a room. As he wonders how to pay the rent, he discovers that he can see the contents of his mind unfolding whilst looking into his eyes in the mirror. He realises that he can apply his gift to others ("If you can look inside yourself, you can look inside anyone!"), and sets up a business in his room, selling tailor-made dreams to a variety of frustrated and neurotic clients."
-wikipedia

IMDB page


This movie is part of the collection: Feature Films

Producer: Hans Richter
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: Surrealist; Hans Richter; Max Ernst; Fernand Léger; Man Ray; Venice Film Festival; Experimental; Art Film

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: gaffer007 - - February 28, 2013
Subject: The most unusual film...
...I have ever seen, and most likely, have you. In which people communicate telepathically, both in their dreams and reality...
Excellent for the post-war 1947 !

Reviewer: Zee Zelot - - December 16, 2012
Subject: Dreams
LSD Poetry

Reviewer: robmh - - October 29, 2012
Subject: RE: Alternate Soundtrack?
Removed the offending copyrighted soundtrack, as well as copyrighted subtitles in the MPEG. Thank you derkman96 for pointing this out.

Reviewer: derkman96 - - July 8, 2012
Subject: Alternate Soundtrack?
It should be noted that the MPEGII version has 2 audio tracks. The second is the original soundtrack to the film and the first and default audio track is an alternate soundtrack created by The Real Tuesday Weld in 2006. I'm not sure of the alternate soundtrack's copyright status but earlier I was whining about this not being the correct soundtrack and I found out it has both.

Reviewer: Dark Moon - - December 3, 2011
Subject: More quotes from Wikipedia, and my take on it

“Dreams That Money Can Buy is a 1947 American experimental feature color film written, produced, and directed by surrealist artist and dada film-theorist Hans Richter.”

“Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a rejection of the prevailing standards in art through anti-art cultural works. Its purpose was to ridicule what its participants considered to be the meaninglessness of the modern world. [Italics mine.] In addition to being anti-war, dada was also anti-bourgeois and anarchist in nature.

“Dada activities included public gatherings, demonstrations, and publication of art/literary journals; passionate coverage of art, politics, and culture were topics often discussed in a variety of media. The movement influenced later styles like the avant-garde and downtown music movements, and groups including surrealism, Nouveau réalisme, pop art, Fluxus and punk rock.”

And this quote from the reviews on IMDb:

“Proclaimed by David Lynch as his favourite film (He pinched the title ‘Ruth Roses and Revolvers’ from it), it is not an easy watch and sadly is probably destined to always be for the cognoscenti [knowledgeable people]. This is a film—not a movie—and whilst not completely successful as a piece of art, it pushes the boundary of film and narrative.”

My take: If Dada is about the purposeless sterility of modern life, this film is about how people shut down and armor themselves in order to survive in it—and then turn to just about anyone or anything in the desperate attempt to wake up, open back up, and to actually feel something.

The opening sequence (with the “complicated lease”): a delicious satire ridiculing money, contract law, and the cigar-sucking paper shufflers (aka lawyers) who wallow in all of it. From here, the film gets very moody indeed.

Desire: The sensuality that a tiny little rabbit of a clerk cannot find while hiding from life behind his bank ledgers. Neither can he find it in his armor-plated wife, and he can only see it in his art clippings as through a window into another world. You can’t win if you don’t play, so go ahead and roll the dice…

The Girl with the Prefabricated Heart: A groupie who has taken her need for connectedness to extremes is certain that she will come alive if she can just find the right group to join—or if she joins enough of them. To validate herself, she wants to sign up everyone else, as well. Instead of a dream of what her life could be, she gets a vision of what her life has become:
“Oh Venus was born out of sea-foam
Oh Venus was born out of brine
But the goddess today
If she is grade A
Is assembled upon the assembly line
(How divine! Rise and shine! Upon the assembly line!)”
Yep, the whole film is a critique of consumerism and the sterility of modern civilization. To be more specific, though, this bit is a critique of modern woman, where the eternal solipsism intersects with a yawning void that can never be filled, and a ravening hunger that can never be satisfied.
(“Now Julie was born as it’s proper
Her every proportion was planned
She was poured from a mold
Exquisite and cold
And she grew up untouched by human hands
[Oh how grand! See her stand! Untouched by human hands!]”)
(“Wheels started turning inside her head
So from his ardent arms she fled!
Girls of wax can’t use devotion
They might melt if they felt an emotion…”)
Oh well, I Guess You’ll Do.

Ruth, Roses and Revolvers: The cynical, status conscious, armor-plated wife from Desire is back for her own session. In Desire we saw a character handling dice; here we are told outright that living fully means taking risks. And what’s at risk? A small group attend a workshop held in a small theater, where they are invited to model the gestures, postures, and attitudes of the model they see on screen. Thus the group become participants in a venue that is usually for spectators. And because of the way that emotions and “body language” are linked, the exercise will cause them to feel something. Will our participants risk joining in the silliness, and feeling an emotion? Had this film been made a few decades later, they could have simply substituted an audience participation showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Discs: A sap gets sapped over the head with a sap, which leaves things spinning a bit. When he comes to, “Funny stuff, huh? Well I ain’t a sap, see?! Stick ’em up! Da fix is in, so you better hand it over if ya know what’s good for yeh, see? I’ll show ya who’s da sap, see? I got yer sap, right here!” They might have called this transitional bit Interlude with a closet.

Ballet and Circus: Wire mobiles that dance on the air, and wire sculptures that perform, brought to you by a young girl and the blind old man she guides. The two people most likely to be ignored have the most to offer our dream merchant, especially after his bump on the head.

Narcissus:
What would happen if you were suddenly to turn blue?
Would your friends all get up and walk away from you?
Kermit used to sing “It’s not easy being green.”
It’s much tougher being blue in this peculiar scene.

This really sucks, suddenly turning blue!
It’s all gone, everything I once knew.
People shout in anger; “up” is upside down.
I don’t know where I’m going, my head is turned around.

Might as well start over, might as well start new.
What choice is there, when you suddenly turn blue?
Climb into a window, imagine what I see?
A woman in her hammock, as peaceful as can be!

She points me to a seat, and offers me a drink,
Cherries and a knife, where I watch myself blink.
This is wrong, there is blood upon the floor.
I have no choice, I must go through the door.

All the old memories, none of them are true.
Everything has changed, now that I’ve turned blue.
Escaping out the window, but I’m heading for a fall.
Some pretty swirling colors, I’m afraid that is all…

Reviewer: Dr Feel Rotten - - December 22, 2010
Subject: I nodded off about 1/2 way
But still enjoyed the first half even though it was really strange. I liked the music the best and some of the imagery, but as for pure entertainment I'll have to pass.I might try to hang through to the 2nd half someday, but that won't be any time soon unless someone ties me to my seat and forces me to remain awake while showing it.

Reviewer: NeatoKino - - August 10, 2010
Subject: A great little chunk of art history
I'd heard about this for a long time, it's wonderful to see it. Leger's bit (the mannequins) is my favorite. Some of the music seems anomalous- from too late a period for a 1947 film- any idea why/when the soundtrack was altered?

Reviewer: Deichbrand_1 - - May 9, 2010
Subject: A really good film
I really enjoyed watching this film or better said this arrangement of several small pieces. That is right, the plot is somewhat different from the usual one.

--- Some spoliers ---
Those six segments appear:
Desire - Max Ernst
(a quite strange one... I wondered whether some WW2 impression were used for it; I could not help myself but thinking about it)

The Girl with the Prefabricated Heart - Fernand Léger
(A critique of consumerism and the sterility of modern civilization? This focus on plastic and the emphasis of consume to express one's status)

Ruth, Roses and Revolvers - Man Ray
(I thought about how media is manipulating people and how they are willing to accept it or refuse to do so)

Discs - Marcel Duchamp
(Hypnotic ... that is all I have to say about this one)

Ballet - Alexander Calder
(the mask was quite neat, this emphasis of the childish aspects)

Circus - Alexander Calder
(reminded me on Tool and their videos)

Narcissus - Hans Richter
(quite weird... but with some interesting ideas and messages)

--- End Spoiler ---

and ... the film has one heck of a catchy tune. It is a really interesting piece of art, which offers a lot to debate upon, especially when considering from today's perspective.

Segments

Desire - Max Ernst
The Girl with the Prefabricated Heart - Fernand Léger
Ruth, Roses and Revolvers - Man Ray
Discs - Marcel Duchamp
Ballet - Alexander Calder
Circus - Alexander Calder
Narcissus - Hans Richter